Sick Day
by Kerrison
Summary: Gingerale, Crackers, Soup and a good cuddle with Brennan on the sofa - every Booth's idea of a perfect Sick Day.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Many thanks to dangeli for her SUPER quick beta and awesome support. This is just a quick one-shot I wrote last night. I would love to hear from you all about this. **

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"_You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself plainly when you have need of him."_

Her voice was soft and even, and while one hand held the book open in front of them both, the other stroked his blonde hair away from his clammy forehead.

Parker was about as relaxed as he could get, nestled into her chest, the blanket pulled up to his chin. He felt his eyes flutter again, as they had for the past few moments and he finally sighed and gave in. He could nap until his dad got home. Bones would wake him.

Brennan smiled softly, feeling the body on her lap gently relax as sleep overtook it. He had been such a good boy, despite bouts of vomiting and chills. She remembered being sick when she was his age and she certainly didn't remember being as polite – she had certainly been whiny and demanding. Parker, on the other hand, had merely wanted to cuddle in front of a book or movie. He truly was a good kid.

She ducked her head and placed a tender kiss to his head, closing her eyes and enjoying the closeness.

The sound of the key turning in the lock brought a small smile to her face and she turned her head towards the door, but kept her cheek resting on Parker's head. It was comfortable to snuggle with the child and, for the first time in a while, Temperance found herself momentarily reevaluating her desire to have children.

"Hey," Booth's voice broke the silence and her eyes fluttered open, meeting his worried gaze.

"He's fine," she uttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm so sorry," Booth replied. He put his keys in the basket on the entry-table and then moved towards them, kneeling next to the sofa and running his hands ever-so-gently across Parker's forehead.

"It's perfectly fine," she replied, shifting slightly and allowing him easier access to his son. "He was no trouble."

"You shouldn't have had to get him from school."

"Its fine, Booth," she said, her voice as reassuring as possible. "It was a slow day at the lab. Really – he wasn't a bother. I rather enjoyed spending the day with him. I just wish he was feeling better to enjoy it, too."

"The trial ran longer than I thought," Booth offered, by way of explanation for not being able to leave work earlier.

"I know," she nodded. "Rebecca called. She couldn't get away, either. She's the one who asked that I go get him."

Booth felt the corner of his mouth curl into a small smile. "I told you she liked you."

"I believe she _tolerates _me, not that she likes me," Brennan corrected before clearing her throat. "He's had a mild fever most of the day. I gave him some ibuprofen as Cam suggested and his fever broke about thirty minutes ago. He's had lots of gingerale and some chicken soup."

"Poor guy," Booth said, shaking his head while his hand tenderly stroked his son's forehead. "I see he convinced you to read that to him?"

"There was little convincing to do. I've been interested in the series and was glad for the opportunity to read some of it. I enjoyed reading with him, Booth; he's very bright," she paused and looked up at him. "I believe he gets that from his father."

Booth met her gaze and allowed a silent beat to pass between them before he cleared his throat.

"I should get him home and into bed," he said, tugging the blanket closer around Parker.

"He just fell asleep before you walked in. It may be wise to let him rest for a while longer."

Booth nodded and stood. He sighed, taking in the sight before him. His best friend -the woman he cared about much more than he was supposed to- half-lay stretched along her couch, his son curled against her as much as his growing frame would allow.

He smiled at her. "Next time I'm sick with the flu, I'm letting you take care of me if this is the kind of treatment we Booth-men get. Soup, gingerale, crackers, good books, and snuggled under a blanket with a beautiful woman," he winked quickly and watched the gentle blush settle over her cheeks.

"Booth-" she sighed a half-hearted castigation. Brennan watched as he stooped, quickly making work of the trash that had gathered on the coffee table after a long day of tending to a sick child. Tissues, cups of gingerale, a bowl of soup, and a sleeve of saltine crackers had littered the surface, but she had paid it little mind. Knowing the boy in her lap was content and feeling moderately better was much more important than her desire to have a tidy home.

He retreated into the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher, starting the appliance with quick fingers. He moved through her house as if he lived there and the notion that it _should _be odd to be this comfortable with your 'work-partner' was quickly shoved from his mind.

He liked their friendship as it was.

He liked how close they were with each other.

He liked that he trusted her to take care of his sick child as if she were Parker's own mother. His momentary doubt when hearing that Rebecca was unable to get Parker from school had little to do with her ability to care for Parker, and more to do with the imposition- he wasn't her son.

He wasn't her responsibility.

Yet Brennan had dropped everything, and rushed to Parker's school, stopping only to buy the 'sick child staples' as she remembered them from her childhood: crackers, gingerale and chicken soup.

According to Angela's hurried phone call that afternoon, Brennan was less nervous about caring for Parker and more nervous about Booth being upset that she was on Rebecca's 'in case of emergency' form.

Booth looked up across the apartment and watched the two most important people in his life snuggled on the sofa.

He chuckled to himself. As if he'd care that Parker and Rebecca considered Brennan family enough to be included on a medical form. God knew she was on every one of _his _medical forms, his 401K, his life insurance. It wasn't as if she needed the money from his policy, but he trusted her to invest it correctly for Parker's future.

The light knock on the door startled him from his reflective musings and he headed to the door with only a quick backwards glance at the duo on the couch. He caught sight of Brennan pulling the blanket back up around Parker and rubbing a soothing hand through his hair as he shifted in his sleep.

"Hey, Seeley," Rebecca said, looking a bit chagrinned when he opened the door. "Is Parker feeling any better?"

Booth nodded. "His fever broke a little bit ago and now he's resting," he pulled the door open the rest of the way and allowed Rebecca to enter. He watched his ex's face as she took in the sight before her – her son curled up in the arms of another woman.

A lesser mother would have shown instant jealousy. A lesser woman would have done all she could to wake her child and hurry him home, staking claim to the child's love.

But Rebecca merely smiled at the peaceful look on Parker's face, content to know that the boy had enough love for them all, and peaceful in the knowledge that he had been in great hands all day. "Tempe, I can't thank you enough. If there's every anything I can do-"

"Don't be silly," Brennan replied quickly, her voice hushed in deference to the child asleep on her chest. "We had a lovely time, despite his illness. I was happy to help."

Rebecca shook her head and ran a motherly hand across Parker's forehead, the boy stirring under his mother's touch.

"Mom?" he said, his voice thick with sleep.

"Hey sweetie. You ready to go home?"

"No," Parker groaned, nesting deeper into the warmth of his cocoon on the couch.

Brennan grinned. "He just fell asleep a bit ago," she supplied. When Rebecca nodded in understanding, Brennan continued. "We've gone through quite a bit of gingerale and crackers and, when his stomach is cooperative, chicken-soup. I believe he may like to have more for dinner tonight."

The blonde woman nodded in agreement. "Sounds like the perfect thing for the flu. Are you sure you don't have children, Tempe? You're a natural, I think."

Brennan felt her cheeks heat with a faint blush and she met Booth's gaze as she looked over Rebecca and Parkers' heads. She saw his knowing smile and found solace in the quiet understanding.

Rebecca continued when no reply came. "We'll stop for groceries on the way home."

Brennan frowned. "You know there's a market up the street," she supplied. "If you'd like to leave Parker here for a few more minutes while you go get what you need, that would be just fine. It seems much more logical than making him get in and out of the car several times when he's not feeling well."

Rebecca looked up, surprised by Brennan's generosity. "Are you sure? You've been stuck with him all day."

"I don't mind, really. I enjoy my time with Parker, even if he isn't feeling his best. Please, go and do what you need to. By the time you get back, he'll be awake and dressed and ready to head home."

"Wow. Well, thank you. I'll just run down and grab the sick-kid essentials." She tucked blonde locks behind her ear and turned, finding a smiling Seeley standing near the door.

He followed her into the hall and watched as she pulled her scarf more tightly around her neck before heading back out to brave the winter-weather.

"She picks our son up from school and cares for him as if he's her own and now, instead of taking the opportunity to pawn a sick kid off on his mother and call it a day, she's offering to keep him a while longer and give me extra time to go grocery shopping?" Rebecca snorted. "I think she's up for sainthood."

"Except she's not Catholic."

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Don't mess this up, Seeley. That woman is the best you could hope for."

"There's nothing _to_ mess up, Rebecca," he replied.

She merely stared at him, the glare relenting only when he finally caved with a knowing and abashed look on his face.

"I wish there was something to mess up, Becca," His voice was hushed. "But there's not. And, I'd rather have nothing to mess up than not have her at all."

Rebecca grinned and reached out, covering his upper arm with her small hand. She squeezed. "There _is_ something there to mess up. Believe me."

Booth just raised a doubtful eyebrow her way and watched as she headed out of the building to get the sick-kid-essentials from the market.

He headed back into the apartment, smiling as he saw her continuing to comb her fingers through Parker's hair, her eyes closed, obviously in contemplation.

"She's right," he said softly. "You do look like a natural."

"Perhaps that's just because I have so many years of experience caring for Booth-men," was her soft reply.

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_Excerpt from Harry Potter - written/owned by JK Rowling. _


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Dangeli continues to rock my socks. Her beta-reads are fantastic and spot-on. She pushes me hard enough when I need it, and backs off when I need it. She's a dream and I'm lucky to have her on my side. ;-) Thanks, gal. **

**To all of you who suggested a second part, this is for you. I enjoyed writing this, too. Thanks for prompting me to do it! (Deep talks ahead. Be warned.) And I'd love to hear from you all again if you have the time to review. ;-)**

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Parker had been bundled in a warm blanket that Booth knew was one of Brennan's favorite. So when she had merely wrapped the boy snuggly in the blanket before handing him off to Booth to be loaded into Rebecca's car, Booth was more proud than shocked. He knew what a caring heart his partner had; he just wished others saw it, too.

"Let me take you to dinner?" he asked, when the door to the apartment shut behind him. He brushed the light dusting of snow from his shoulders.

"It's not necessary," was her reply, moving to straighten the pillows and cushions on her couch.

"Bones, come on," he pushed. "I wish I could do something to thank you for helping out today."

She turned, her arms folded in front of her chest. "Booth, if I had a child and the child was sick, and I wasn't able to be there, wouldn't you take care of her for me?"

"You know I would, Bones."

"So how is today something special? I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done. I certainly didn't do anything that was a hardship."

He moved towards her, his hands resting on her shoulders and sliding down her arms. He squeezed his hands gently around her biceps. "You did something you didn't _have _to do. And knowing you were with him … I didn't worry once, Bones. Not once. I knew he was in the best hands."

"Thank you," she said, correctly inferring his statement to be a compliment.

"No, thank _you_," Booth said, leaning in and kissing her forehead quickly. "Now. Dinner?"

"It's not necessary," she replied again but rolled her eyes and smiled under his unrelenting glare. "Fine. Let me get my coat."

*~*

"Lots of experience caring for Booth men, huh?" he said as he settled into the chair across from her at the diner.

"I anticipated that you'd bring that comment up again."

"You're pretty good at anticipating me," he said with a grin. "It's all those years of _caring _for Booth men."

Brennan rolled her eyes and shook her head. "In this instance the anticipation was because I knew your ego wouldn't let that comment die."

Their usual waitress came over and took their typical order of a burger and salad.

"You seemed to jump into the 'mom' role easily today," he said, taking a sip of the fresh coffee the waitress had dropped by.

"Anthropologically, caring for society's young hasn't changed that much in centuries. The instinct to provide care for a child – ill or healthy – is actually hard-wired into the human brain. Instinct is very helpful with the perpetuation of the species."

He shook his head. "Don't short-change yourself, Bones. Instinct is making sure the kid doesn't die. Instinct is making sure he has food and water. What you did was _care. _There's a big difference," he forestalled her protest with an upraised hand. "I saw you all snuggled up with him on the sofa. I saw you brushing his hair out of his face. That's _caring _and that has nothing to do with anthropology and everything to do with you having the ability to be an awesome mom."

"I'm not his mother, Booth."

_No need to remind me._ He smiled softly at her and sat back, allowing the waitress to place his burger in front of him. He watched as she stole a fry before ever sparing a glance at her garden salad.

"I know we haven't talked about it in a while," he said when the waitress had left, leaving them alone again. "But have you thought more about having children?"

"Not really, no." She shook her head, prodding her salad with a fork. "It doesn't seem to be realistic expectation."

"Why not?"

Brennan gaze remained firmly on her plate.

"Bones?" Booth prodded.

"I hadn't looked into other options," she said, looking up and meeting his questioning look.

He frowned for a split second before finally catching on. "Other than me?"

She nodded.

"I was your only option?"

"Not my only 'option,'" she corrected, willing herself not to react to his small smile. "I had many options. You were my first choice and the only one I really pursued."

His voice was soft and almost reluctant when he spoke. "I'm kinda touched by that."

"I _knew_ telling you would only boost your alpha-male ego!"

"Well why wouldn't it? I just had a beautiful woman tell me that if she couldn't have _my baby_ then she didn't want anyone's."

"That is not what I said."

"Isn't it? That's what it sounds like to me."

"That fact doesn't surprise me. Your alpha-male ego makes you prone to misinterpreting things I say so that they're more flattering to you." She glared at him.

"Bones, you pretty much said you wanna have my baby or no baby at all. How am I misinterpreting that?" he said, chuckling. He knew he was stretching her words, but the opportunity was too good to resist.

She set her fork down with a startling amount of force, her temper clearly on edge.

"I selected you for your genetic traits, Booth."

It was one of the largest unprompted-displays of temper he had ever witnessed in her. "Bones," he said softly, keeping her gaze steadily across the table. "Do you understand why I said no?"

"Booth, I really don't know that now is the time to be discussing this."

He slid a hand across the table and covered her fingers with his own, trying to sooth her agitated state. "If we had a baby, Bones, I couldn't stay away."

His voice was quiet and even and he managed to still her fidgeting fingers. He stroked his thumb across the back of her hand.

"I'd want to be there for everything," he continued. "I'd want to hold your hand while you're in labor. I'd want to go to the sonograms. I'd want to be there when you take the test."

"Those things could be arranged," she said softly.

"No, Bones. Everything," he said again. "First dirty diapers, first feedings, first naps, first tooth, first steps, first words. And those aren't things that can be scheduled. We can't swap weekends with an infant like we do with Parker and hope that something important happens when we're both in the room. That's not how it is."

"It's highly unlikely that we'd both be present for _all_ of the important events even if there was co-habitation."

"True," he said, conceding her point. "But I don't want to hear about my baby's first words from a text message you managed to send me during the day. I want to come home from work and have you wrap your arms around my neck. I want to see your face all excited and proud when you tell me that she said 'cookie' or 'mama.' That's the way it should be."

He felt her fingers tense under his hand and Booth mentally replayed the words that had just tumbled from his mouth. He instantly recognized where he had overstepped, but he couldn't bring himself to back-peddle over what was the honest truth.

It was a thick moment of silence before she cleared her throat and finally spoke. "I've seen how challenging it is for you to share parenting with Rebecca. I can understand why you don't want to do that again."

"Thank you," Booth replied sincerely.

"You're a very good father, Booth."

"Thank you," he said again. "You're going to be a great mother someday, Bones."

She half-smiled. "There are several obstacles in the way before that will happen, it seems."

Booth shook his head. "You remember what we discussed in the hospital? Before my surgery?"

She nodded, prompting him to continue.

"I want you to be happy, Bones," he said softly.

"I'm aware of that," she replied, clearly not understanding his inference.

"If having a baby makes you happy, Bones, then … I want to be a part of that. I want to help, if I can."

"But you don't want to miss out on your child's life," she supplied.

Booth nodded and half-shrugged. "Can you blame me? I've already got one kid where I've missed out on lots of the good stuff. I don't want to do it again. And it's different with you than with Rebecca."

He watched the small furrow between her brow as she frowned at his words. "I'm not sure I understand."

Both smirked. "I care about her _because _she's my son's mother. I care about you because_ you're you_. Having a baby together won't make me care about you, Bones. It'll just make me care about you more –if that's possible."

He watched her face as she mulled his words and was disconcerted by the tension he saw on her features.

Booth shook his head, deciding to ease her mind. "And if you've changed your mind, there's nothing that says you can't start looking into your 'other options'. I'm sure there are plenty of donors out there who will happily supply you with the DNA you need."

She was quiet for a beat before slowly twisting her hand under his, lacing their fingers together. "I imagine midnight feedings are easier with two people."

"Yep."

"And I imagine school sick-days are easier with two people."

"Yep."

"And it is logical to assume that while the child would receive sufficient enrichment and education from one parent, there are certain things the second parent may be more adept at teaching on a daily basis."

"Very logical," he agreed. Hand-holding wasn't something they traditionally did, but he certainly wasn't going to refuse the small gesture of intimacy she offered.

"My childhood was much more stable and much happier in a dual-parent home."

He nodded. "I wish I could say the same. But I get your point."

Brennan twisted her mouth in thought. "I believe I need to re-evaluate my original reasoning behind having a child on my own. Perhaps I need to make some changes before I pursue this any further."

"You'll make a great mom, Bones. Don't re-evaluate that part." Booth spared her a wink before slowly pulling his hand away and eating his burger with gusto.

"Thank you," she said, turning her attention back to her salad. "I believe I learned by watching you be such a good father."

Booth looked up at her, mid chew. His eyebrows rose and he couldn't help but smile as much as his mouthful of food would allow.

"Booth?" she started, looking up at him with a somewhat worried expression. "Perhaps after dinner we could discuss your required parameters? What circumstances you need to feel comfortable having another child?"

"So I'm back on the list?" he asked with a wink.

"You were never off it," she said, reaching across and stealing a fry.


End file.
